Saturday, February 24, 2007

One Book at a Time Part 2

This is the second part of a post I began here, all about the different types of people who buy books, and the reasons they buy.

In this entry, I'll be focusing on the things writers and publishers do to reach these groups, and how effective these things are.

1st Tier: The Diehards. They include Booksellers, Librarians, Megafans (collectors, bloggers, voracious readers, people who help spread the word, family and friends) and the Media (reviewers, interviewers.)

Here's how publishers try to reach these people:

Distribute advance reading copies and galleys to reviewers, booksellers, librarians, and the media.

Have a presence at trade shows (BEA, GLBA, ALA, ABA, etc.)

Through house catalogs and distribution catalogs.

Through their sales reps.

Through their publicists, sending out press releases and materials.

Here's how authors try to reach these people:

Though genre conventions and book fairs.

By visiting libraries and bookstores on tour and for drop-in signings.

Through targeted Internet activity, including email, message boards, MySpace, and newsletters (to those who sign up for the mailing list.)

By contacting local media directly with a press kit and a hook.

What works?

All of this works (though getting media coverage is hardest) because the Diehardsare actively looking for books and authors. It's much easier to find someone who is already seeking you out than it is to impress someone by cold-calling.

There may not be enough Diehards to make you a huge success, but these people deserve more of your time than any other group because they are megaphones who talk about your books, helping to spread positive word of mouth, and that relates to sales in excess of their numbers. Cultivate them. Treat them well. Thank them. Reward them. You need this 1st Tier if you expect to break out.

2nd Tier: Heavy Users - These folks account for a large portion of book buyers. They're readers who buy many books a year, and are actively looking for something new to read.

Here's how publishers try to reach these people:

Advertising in trade and genre magazines.

Securing reviews.

Purchase coop placement in bookstores.

Touring authors.

Booking media appearances and interviews.

Here's how authors try to reach these people:

Touring.

Attending conferences and book fairs.

Giving away materials (chapbooks, bookmarks, free books.)

Mailing postcards.

Advertising in trade and genre magazines.

Public speaking.

Maintaining a sticky website.

Having a large Internet presence (responding to email, joining listservs and egroups, appearing in public forums, links, Wikipedia, Amazon Connect, MySpace, etc.)

What works?

Reviews sell books, but they are getting harder and harder to come by. Harder still is getting media coverage.

Ads may sell books (I remain skeptical) but not in proportion to what they cost---a $1000 ad that sells 20 books can be called effective, but certainly not cost-effective.

Touring is also extremely cost-ineffective. While it's important to meet booksellers and fans, official signings are usually poorly attended.

Postcards are a big waste. I've gotten dozens of postcards from authors, and never bought a single book because of one.

Public speaking, in the right forum, can sell books. Keynote speaker spots are hard to get, but worthwhile, especially if they pay you to attend.

Giving away materials while at conventions or while touring is a loss leader, but can spread goodwill and name recognition.

The Internet is the cheapest way to reach people, but it's also a time black hole, and the majority of book buyers don't really care about author websites.

Coop placement works, and is arguably the best thing that can be done for a book. But it doesn't last, and can result in big returns and poor sell-through because bookstores order more copies. It's also pretty much beyond an author's control. And it might be beyond a publisher's control as well.

Though the more books an author has in print, the better off they generally are, the amount of books that do get printed isn't up to the author, or the publisher. It's up the the accounts.

The buyers (wholesale, not retail) determine how many books get printed, by placing orders with the sales reps. If your book doesn't have a lot of pre-orders, you simply won't get coop dollars.

3rd Tier: Casual Users - These also account for a large portion of book buyers, but they only buy books occasionally. These are the folks who buy books as gifts, or only buy bestselling authors, or only read one book a year while on vacation.

Here's how publishers try to reach these people:

Advertising in national periodicals.

TV and radio spots.

Booking media appearances and interviews.

Here's how authors try to reach these people:

Large public events (LA Times Festival of Books, Chicago Printer's Row Book Fair, etc.)

Media coverage

What works?

Word of mouth. Of course, word of mouth works on all tiers, but the Diehards and Heavy Users are actively looking for books. The Casual Users don't read very much. Books aren't their main source of entertainment. Some don't read at all, and only go into a bookstore when looking to buy Uncle Earl something for Christmas ("He likes books about war," they'll tell the bookseller at the information desk.)

You can sell them books by meeting them in person, or you can spend gazillions of dollars on ads hoping that your name will stick in their minds that one time a year they go book shopping.

But the sad fact is, the only way to reach these people is to already be a bestseller. And since they account for a large number of books sold, newbie and midlist authors (and their publishers) should save the full page NYT ads and concentrate on finding buyers among the first two tiers.

4th Tier: Johnny Come Latelys - This is the group that only buys books after everyone else has bought them.

Here's how publishers try to reach these people:

Even more ads.

Here's how authors try to reach these people:

If an author is so successful that they are selling to this group, they are no longer trying to reach fans. They are in seclusion, hiding from fans.

After four years in this business, I've come to the conclusion that just about everything authors do is cost-ineffective, if you look at the direct benefits (book sales.)

But there are indirect benefits. The more people you meet and impress, the better off you are. Networking has far-reaching effects, giving you more opportunities to spread your brand.

Unfortunately, networking almost always has to be done in person, and requires a substantial time and money commitment on behalf of the author, with no guarantee of returns.

The goal is positive word-of-mouth. The author is the most effective spokesperson for a book, so the author has to bear much of the responsibility for getting out there and shaking hands with the world.

The publisher has to make sure the books are in print and distributed, and be willing to support an author until a tipping point is reached. The tipping point is when efforts are supported by sales, and there is a return on the time/money investment.

It may take years for the tipping point to come, if it ever comes at all.

I've long been against advertising, because I believe it is a lot of money spent for a tiny return.

The same can be said for touring. Or even single booksigning events. Or traveling to conventions and book fairs. It all costs a lot, and returns very little.

In fact, I'll go on the record and state that NOTHING an author can do will make an immediate, tangible difference in their career.

But the intangible benefits can add up.

The fact is, every person who meets you, and every person who reads you, has the potential to become a lifetime fan. The more people you meet, the more people you get to read you, the more potential fans you have.

You may not sell nearly enough books to cover the costs of a trip to Bouchercon, but you'll sell more books because of that than if you'd stayed home. This goes for everything you try, everything you do, to self-promote.

And let's say, after years of effort, you sold an extra 5000 books that wouldn't have sold normally. Not a lot. But those sales will lead to more sales, and the people you met will remember you when media and publicity opportunities arise, and if your publisher is smart they'll recognize your efforts and try to match them with efforts of their own.

Yes, it involves a lot of hard work that may never pay off.

Yes, luck plays a huge part.

Yes, it's easy to get discouraged when every single thing you do looks like a failure from a cost-effectiveness standpoint.

Yes, many of your peers are a lot more successful and don't do nearly as much promotion as you do.

No one said this would be fair, fun, or easy.

Your job is to write the best book you can, and then work to build an audience. There are no quick answers. Your books will sell one at a time.

How many of those one-at-a-time sales are you directly responsibly for?

Well said. As a publisher myself and someone who has been in this business for far too many years, I couldn't agree more with the notion that you build success one book at a time. Leveraging your network, and in turn, your network's network, if you will, is also critical. I've seen plenty of authors who have built longterm success by mobilizing their followers and getting them to become evangelists on all fronts.

"After four years in this business, I've come to the conclusion that just about everything authors do is cost-ineffective, if you look at the direct benefits (book sales.)"

It took you 4 years to figure this out?!!!

Of course it is. But isn't it cost-ineffective in most businesses? There's an old saying about how 50 cents of every dollar spent on marketing is wasted, but since you don't know which 50 cents it is, you spend the wh ole dollar anyway.

I also think the whole thing is like Chinese water torture. Drop a book at a time on the head of readers and if your publisher hangs in there with you, eventually the marketplace will notice you.

For my Barnes & Noble reading in Manhattan, I had T-shirts made with the cover of my book on the front. I gave them to all the bookstore staff, on the theory that if they needed a clean shirt to wear to work and chose mine, they'd be walking ads. Plus, it seemed like a nice thing to do.

The tipping point is when efforts are supported by sales, and there is a return on the time/money investment.It may take years for the tipping point to come, if it ever comes at all.

I think the above statement is the most important thing in your post, Joe. With only a few quirky exceptions, success in this business is hard-won and long-time-coming. Most the bestselling authors I know were 7,8...10 books into their careers before hitting it big. Some had previous careers in romance and brought along a nascent audience.

Maybe I'm a pollyanna, but I still believe the best use of my energy is to write the best damn book I can, be true to the books I need to write while being smart about what seems to work in the market in relation to whatever I am doing. (ie: when is the timing right for a standalone? Is trade smarter for me than HC?) Oh yeah, and you need to make each book you produce better than the last.

How well a book will be received by the marketplace, and will sell in the marketplace, is determined long before the book ever hits the shelves. The best thing that can happen to a book is that it gets reviewed by Kirkus, PW, ALA, LJ, etc. Libraries and booksellers across the nation pay hyper attention to these review organizations.

The best thing that an author can do to “market” his/her book is to write a killer book in the first place. This will produce many more ultimate sales than writing a mediocre book and then spending a gazillion hours trying to promote it.

So, I agree with PJ Parish that the best way an author can spend his/her time is to write a really good book in the first place. If this happens, people in the industry will notice and sales will tend to take care of themselves.

Instead of being the inventor of Coke/Prius, I'd equate the business model for books to opening a new restaurant.

You have to do more up-front promotion to drive customers to sample your menu. Just opening your doors isn't good enough -- not enough people will walk into an unknown restaurant to make it profitable.

Most restaurants lose money for a couple of years while generating a fan base.

But if the food is good enough, the menu doesn't radically change, established restaurants don't need to heavily advertise to fill their tables... they've got word of mouth and repeat customers.

I don't believe that just writing a great book will lead to success. There's plenty of great books (and restaurants, and TV shows, and movies) that fail because not enough people sampled the product for it to 'stick.'

JA, this has been a great pair of posts. Breaking down readers into 'die-hards,' 'casual users,' etc. -- and discussing what marketing efforts work best for each segment -- is valuable food for thought.

Gregory wrote: I don't believe that just writing a great book will lead to success.

The operative word is "just." I never said that; I said I believed the best use of my energy was to write the best book I could. It would be great if we could all "just" write our books, but the publishing model doesn't allow that anymore.

Which is why I have spent the last two days personally calling indie bookstores in Michigan because that's where my new book takes place. And today, I am mailing them all ARCs. Because I know my publisher won't target these folks, and I need their support.

Tomorrow, I do my newsletter. The next day, it's prepare for a panel I am moderating and a writers workshop I am teaching at SleuthFest. And next week, I've got two library appearances. And some time soon I have to start mapping out a Michigan tour. (which will be on my own dime).

I do this because I'd be a fool not to, and because Joe is right that it's one book (and reader) at a time.

Sorry if I sound crabby, but I have been stuck on chapter 2 of the NEXT book for two weeks. And I would rather be working on it.

And here I am wasting time reading this damn blog! It's all your fault, Konrath...

I picked up your first book because of the color of the cover, then realized I'd read your article in Writer's Digest. I bought the book. Then I came here. I keep buying your books because I like you. They're not really my genre, but I like you. So I buy your books--and I enjoy them.

Best post on the subject yet, Joe. I've been making the rounds these last few weeks since the book came out, but I have no idea what works and what doesn't. It's all a crap shoot as far as I can tell, but you can't win if you don't roll the dice.

I know you understand this because you've talked about it before, but no event, mailing, conference, etc can be judged on the number of books you sell that day.

Let's assume you're writing books good enough that people can be hooked by book one and move on to book two (or book five to book one.)

You go to a bookstore signing and sell 10 books. You also schmooze with the employees and they sell an extra thirty copies of your book over the next month before they get schmoozed by someone else.

Bottom line an extra $40 for you and maybe an extra $200 for the publisher. Not profitable right?

Now you have to do the harder math. Of those 40 books, hopefully you'll pick up 10-15 die hard fans who will buy your next five books.

So now we are up to somewhere in the range of 100 of your books in circulation. If they like your book, they share it with friends and family.

So now we have maybe 150-200 people who have read at least one of your books.

Do that at 10 stores and you have added an extra 1500-2000 readers. It's not an overnight success and it may not land you a spot in the NYT, but it is enough to steadily increase your sales to what you call the tipping point.

Sometimes we authors get so focused on hitting a homerun, we forget to just get on base. We look at the successful authors the way my teenage kids look at my house and car and think they should have everything I have right away.

Home Base Business Blasting Sales Thru The Strosphere - 30,000 Franchise Owners and counting. There is a great reason for owing your own franchise. At the same time you can enjoy videos, music, download scripts - software or become an affiliate for free! Affiliate programs for residual income are in vogue and this one is the up and comer of all home base business. If Branding your own software products; Bringing visitors to your services; using the latest in website design; A serious home base business owner then come over for a visit. We are searching for new affiliates so if you are searching for a home base business that provides a fun atmosphere and credible credentials give us a visit and decide for yourself. It does not cost you a dime to have your own portal to making money

There is alot of debate whether you can Make Easy Money Online and with so many scams out there it is bound to be a little bit dishearting!

So are there any legit ways to Make Easy Money Online?

Well, Yes you will be glad to know there are legit ways to Make Easy Money Online the only thing is all of them require hard work!

I know there are websites out there that claim you can become a millionaire overnight but if you think about it this is just not plausible!

That said with a bit of work on your part you will be suprised how easy it is to Make Easy Money Online and you should start off by searchnig for more info on Google and maybe join a few groups with like minded people!

If you really want to know how to Make Easy Money Online I would suggest investing in this manual, but only if you are serious as they will give you the keys to the door but you must open it so to speak!

Not knowing where to start on actually making money, I went to college and got a Business Degree. After graduation, I went straight into working in the financial industry only to find that I did not like putting in long hours even for the substantial starting salary.

I know most people would've been happy with what I was making, but the truth is that I had no free time. To me having my time was more important then having more money. I knew there had to be a way to have both so I started looking for other ventures outside of the traditional workforce.

I tried several different things and ended up making the most on eBay. I juggled my full time job and eBay for nearly a year until I was making enough online to quit my job and pay my bills.

I started to live the life. eBay was growing and actually started to make me more money then what I had been making at my "professional" job.

I don't just "talk the talk", I "walk the walk" and can back up everything that I'm telling you. Look at it this way, if you make "ONLY" a measely $274 a day, that about $100,000 a year! Think about it.

I don't know about you, but this is amazing to me when you really think about it!

If the truth be told I should be selling this system for hundreds of dollars because of how confident I am with this manual. Initially I offered it for $299 and was able to sell the program very successfully.....................

I recently stumbled on on a powerful money making manual of how a disabled mother of the U.S. Army Went From $0 - $12,000 / Month in 4 Months Flat! She knows here stuff. I bought the manual myself and it has helped me increase my sales ratio by 500 percent!

Holly Mann shares with you a money-making secret that made $100 within two hours of implementing it. It really is a powerful method. It's a different way to make money online - costs you nothing in advertising and would not be considered "work." You will be surprised how easy it is.

For those of you who do NOT have a website, she provides detailed information telling you exactly how to make money through affiliate programs with no site, no advertising costs and very little "work." It's something you could profit from by putting in only an hour to two hours per day - and you can start making money with these techniques right NOW.

Do you want a Professionally Designed, FREE website right away so you can pull in even more money? If you would like to have a website but aren't experienced with designing and maintaining sites and all else that is involved, she tell you exactly how to get a FREE website setup within 5 minutes with NO costs whatsoever. Plus, you never have to pay for hosting and you don't need any real web design experience.

Also, for the advanced internet gurus and entrepreneurs - you will increase your earnings after you read this e-book, "guaranteed". You will discover new ways to increase your revenue like I did and many other different techniques that you never thought of trying. Her strategies are proven successful and are highly profitable.

You don't have to spend a dime on advertising anymore. Keep 100% profits. Not only is it possible (also, see proven success stories......) but it is feasible if you follow the steps in her manual. She provides more detailed information about different money making techniques with and without a website and low-cost and FREE advertising and site promotion.

She also provides a DETAILED guide to Search Engine Optimization - What to do and how to do it - giving you the exact information about how to get ALL of your websites to the top 5 position of EVERY search engine! I've also noticed that EVERY SINGLE website she have optimized for her specific keywords has reached the top 1-5 ranking - EVERY ONE TO THIS DAY!!! SEO is the single most important tool in making money online because without site visitors - your internet venture is worthless.

She will share the secret to how she doubled her website's revenue within a month by implementing a search engine positioning technique (which only took three hours to do). And she will tell YOU exactly how you can do it too.

Anyone looking for a great home business opportunity needs to check out a recently launched program called the EDC Gold. We are having tremendous success with this program. You can check out the program at http://www.amazingopp.com/ In addition, we also provide a guarantee of success with this program for member of our FREE website called the Global Home Business Resource Center . You can check out this website at http://www.globalhbrc.com